On the VP debate stage, two visions for policing in America are laid out

During the vice presidential debate Tuesday night, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke urgently about the need for gun control while answering a question about preventing school shootings.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, on the other hand, spoke of increasing police presence at schools in his answer, talking of the need to “arrest the bad guys, put them away and take offenders off the streets.”

The answers highlight the disparate philosophies the two candidates have on law and order and ensuring public safety in the country.

On the campaign trail and in his career on Capitol Hill, Vance has positioned himself as a staunch supporter of police, including introducing a resolution in Congress last year expressing support for law enforcement.

Some key context:In 2022, the city council in Washington, D.C. passed a sweeping police reform bill, which banned neck restraints, improved access to footage from officer body worn cameras, strengthened officer training and further restricted when and how officers use force, among other changes.

In response — and because Congress ultimately has legislative control over the nation’s capital — Vance introduced a resolution in the House that would have nullified the reforms. In his comments about the resolution, which did not pass, Vance described the reforms as hindering officers with “these ridiculous exhaustion requirements before they can use lethal force to protect themselves and people around them.”

Though Vance used to describe himself as a “never Trump guy,” he is now a devoted supporter of the former president, who has also positioned himself as a tough-on-crime candidate. Indeed, the Republican platform this year promises to “replenish” police departments, stand up to “Marxist” prosecutors and